To Paint Illumination: Studio Visit with Alina Birkner
We recently had the joy of engaging with Alina Birker’s work and practice through a digital studio visit.
Without words, without explanation, Alina’s paintings talk about the spiritual moments woven within ordinary days. Familiar auric shapes and glowing hues recall dreamstates, visions, wanderings, feelings, and knowings. Comfortable mystery surrounds the viewer like a warm blanket while radiant curiosity invites them to recall their own spiritual experience, or to at least, ignite their imagination.
In her painting practice, there is time, spaciousness, patience, and layers of understanding built between herself and the emerging subjects on the canvas. The studio is located within the building she dwells within. Her commute is short, making the long hours spent creating more divisible. Four studio walls hold recollections and reflections on self, lineage, mystery, time, and on the divide between realms of reality.
Each painting is constructed slowly, layer by layer, as paint dries and radiant forms take shape. Like an ideal spiritual experience, there is a graceful unfurling, with no sense of rushing. Beauty is nurtured throughout, resulting in works that feel friendly and illuminating—much like their creator.
Alina Birkner lives and works in Munich, Germany. To learn more about her works, visit
